Hesperia men linked to 19 tagging incidents

HESPERIA • Two men were arrested in Hesperia after a single tagging incident linked the pair to 18 more, according to a Monday news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies with the Hesperia sheriff's station responded to a report of two young men tagging in the city on Friday, according to the release.

A deputy located the two males near the Chevron station at Main Street and Mountain Vista Avenue, where both suspects ran north and ignored verbal commands from the deputy to stop, the release stated.

Additional deputies arrived and established a perimeter around the field north of the gas station. Deputies searched the field and found Jesse Del Rio, 19, and Eric Reyna, 20, lying on the ground near some shrubs. Both were arrested without incident.

Deputies seized evidence linking the two Hesperia men to the vandalism of at least 19 different locations between Mariposa Road and Escondido Avenue early Friday morning, the release said.

"They tagged all of those spots early Friday morning," Hesperia sheriff's station spokeswoman Sue Rose said.

Del Rio and Reyna were booked at the Victor Valley Jail for felony vandalism, and both were released awaiting trial, according to officials.

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